Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1887-12-23

rections.
ssThere are six of them," he said, land we
are nine men, with only one woman are
we to fight, gentlemen, or shall we sur
render1'
''Mexicans never surrender" cried ore OF
them. ''We will fight to the last drop OF
blood"
Eyes, always answered the other eight.
81 shall be killed, oh, shall be kllled.'
shrieked the frightened woman.
eve shall defend you, sonora, they lie"
clared. The horsemen drew near. AL were
masked and armed One party passed The
coach, wheeled and instantly returned
Meanwhile Yorke sprang from the stage,
which had stopped and calling to his fellow
passengers to join him, fired his rifle at the
nearest of the gang and killed him. He then
began discharging his revolver as they closed
in on him, and looking about for his conf
panions, discovered them all in their seats,
pallid spectators of his recklessness In an
other instant pistol ball struck him down.
Evidently the ladrones had only contempt
for the Mexican passengers, for they rode di-
rectly forward to the fallen American, whose
body they mercilessly hacked to pieces with
their sabers for a warning to all who resist
ed their robberies.
The entire treasure of Wood & Co. was
taken from the person of Yorke and his va
lise: and the passengers, the lady not ex-
cepted were robbed of every article they
possessed, even to their outer clothing.
When the ladrones left their captain opened
an embroidered jacket revealing the form OF
a woman, and cried out with a sheer, S'4 on
are men. Adios!"
When the stage, returning, entered the
patio of the Hotel Iturbide with the body OF
Mr.. Yorke, it was met by Wood, to whom
the lady passenger declared that his partner
had been killed by an Englishman OF the
band, whose lower face was ruddy, narrow
and thin, ending in little shadowy beard:
that he had reached into the coach and shot
Yorke in the back, through the open door
way of the opposite side, as he was firing
rapidly at the gang, and that as he with
drew his head his beard dropped from his
chin and she had secured it.
At 10 o'clock that morning he went to the
English bank with the woman, and presented
a check for payment As the teller laid down
| the money he saw the little wad of beard on
the counter, picked it up, and, looking at it
curiously said: tWhat is this?n At the same
moment, Mr.. Wood discovered that his COM
| panion trembled violently and was becoming
alarmingly pale, and lost no time in leaving
! the bank
The woman was sure of the identity of the
i man, and would listen to no possibility OF her
mistake. As for Mr.. Edgar Wood, he was
COMPOUNDED, but he did the customary thing,
and set an English detective on the track of
Mr.. Carlos Watfils, the teller of the English
bank of Mexico
The next payment went to the line in
charge of paymaster and mounted guard,
of whom the chief was one of the most sue
cessful ladrones of Mexico; he gave safe con-
duct to the treasure, for which he was well
paid.
Two months passed. No outward sign in-
| dictated any depravity on the part of Mr.
Watfils. He lived modestly, and seemed
retiring, rather studious man. His sole dissi-
patton was his horseback ride each morning
and night.
The time had come for another payment to
the men of the contractor, and again Wood
determined to go in person with the money,
and by stage. This time he selected day
when fair complement of Mexican men,
having commercial relations with Vera
, Cruz, would travel, and went accompanied
also by two Americans, armed with rifles and
revolvers.
The English detective, with companion,
both well armed, rode out in the same direc-
ton half hour after the stage left The
road had not been so infested of late, but the
Americans understood the danger to which
they were exposed in the transportation of
treasure, and made their disposition accord
ingly. Mr.. Wood and one companion occu-
pied the front seat of the coach, looking to
the rear; the third man of the party sat with
| the driver, being a crack shot with a VIM
chester rifle.
When they stopped for coffee, at s o'clock,
| no one had appeared to modest the stage, or
| create suspicion. As they left the little inn
| the detective appeared in sight, but the stage
made no delay, and the party were again on
their way.
Suddenly the inside passengers detected the
effort of the driver to stop his cumbrous
| team, and heard the voice of the American
by his side shout to him. ''If you stop, I'll kill
| YOU drive on and drive hard" Then a rifle
shot, and another shout as he passed down
his rifle, and called for fresh one, which he
received at once.
Mr.. Wood and his companions, looking
| from the coach, saw they were pursued by
eight horsemen, who were not now within 200
yards at the rear. Leaning from the coach
window he cried out to the driver, eff those
| fellows catch us you are dead man' The
UuIGdU lOlu WOuuCIlullJ OH ut1e SIS6ll Ol LILO
team.
Meanwhile the band approached, and the
, three Americans fired together, throwing the
ladrones into confusion and forcing halt;
but they rallied at once, and six horsemen of
the eight We're drawing near when the
drivers companion by another shot brought
alnan to the ground. At this moment the
detective and his guard appeared in the rear
of the band, and Mr.. Wood ordered the
driver to slow down. The robbers discov-
| cred the trick, for, turning, they saw the
reinforcement in their rear, and lost no time
leaving the road and making off across the
valley toward the mountains.
The stage met no further adventure, and
Mr.. Wood was able to return to Mexico in a
week. The afternoon of his arrival he ac-
companied the English Bank manager and
the detective to the hospital at Guadalupe,
| and found there, to the surprise of the man
| ager, the teller, Mr.. Carlos Watfils, suffering
| from shattered leg.
Ii Watfils were tried in Mexico, it is by no
| means certain that conviction could be
| secured under those laws. 1t was, indeed a
| chance if the Americans might not be made
to suffer for killing men who had not attacked
I them. In this view of the case, Mr.. Watfils
was sent across the water with the English
OIIlcef, una uaNlLS Deeu coilN lcteu III LoHuOi
| of the crime of counterfeiting, was sentenced
! to twenty years penal servitude.-Tha Ar
! gonaut.
Tennessee has an area of 800 quares miles
of coal, which covers twenty-five counties.
During the past six years the output of coal
in the state has grown from 494 900 tons to
!, 200, 900 tons, an increase of 400 per cent.
| Rhea on Stage Costumes.
| In a recent interview regarding dressing
for the stage, Mile. Rhea said: II do not see
how an artistic can thoroughly enter into the
spirit of her role unless she be correctly cos
TUNED. A queens robe and gown give you
something of the feeling of queen, do they
not? 1 know it is so with me, at least